HMPV: What To Know About The Surging Virus
Huff Postsimarik via Getty Images Experts break down the signs and symptoms of HMPV and why there's no reason to panic. Though HMPV might not be as widely-discussed as influenza or its cousin RSV, the respiratory virus has been around for centuries and regularly spreads around the globe ― including the United States. “Cases occur every year in the U.S. and have been occurring throughout the respiratory viruses season,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, told HuffPost. People usually experience classic cold symptoms — think: congestion and shortness of breath — but some may develop more severe symptoms or complications like bronchitis or pneumonia. “There are no distinguishing symptoms of HMPV that differentiate it from the other myriad respiratory viruses,” Adalja noted.